Break My Heart
by NotInsaneIPromise
Summary: All is normal in the world with the chipmunks. Everyone is happy and pchyced to go to school. But will Brittany's friend Suzie bring everyone downhill?
1. Chapter 1

**A Chipmunk Love story**

**1**

"Well, here it is," Alvin said, pointing to the small air mattress on the floor," I'm sorry, it isn't much, but it's better than your house."

"Yeah, thanks Alvin, it's fine." Jeanette sat down on the red throw blanket," I assume that the blanket is yours?"

"Yeah, it's the only spare one I have. Sadly, it is also too thin to be using during the winter. Will you be okay?"

"Of course, and I should only have to be here one night, I hate intruding." Jeanette crossed her ankles and set down her pajamas.

"You're not intruding! It's not your fault that Brittany started another fight. Speaking of which, what are they fighting about this time?"

"Bathroom Rights."

"Oh… wait; didn't they already sort things out with the bathrooms?"

"Yeah, but Brittany wants more time in the morning to do her hair."Jeanette did an imitation of Brittany flipping her hair.

Alvin Laughed," Yeah it's no wonder why you came here…" She tuned him out and took a quick look around the room. It had pale walls and a bunch of pictures of the chipmunks when they were little. This was obviously the guest bedroom. She quickly went back to listening to Alvin's little speech,"… And that is why I am making myself your honorary older brother."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, since your only older sibling can be such a selfish pig"

"Hey, don't forget that you're dating that selfish pig!"

"Yeah, well-"At that moment, Simon and Theodore walked in, so she couldn't ask him why he seemed so hesitant.

"Good night guys. Netta" Simon leaned over and kissed Jeanette softly on the lips. Then, all of the boys left her to sleep in silence. She turned off the light and layed down on the twin- sized matress.

**2**

"I got it!" Eleanor said at school, screaming and giving Jeanette a hug.

"Uh, you got more right to the bathroom?"

"No, I got accepted to that acting school" Both Eleanor and Jeanette screamed happily this time.

"I can't believe it! You have to come home every other weekend and major holiday! Did you tell Theodore yet?"

"Yes, he is going to a cooking school right next door!" she screamed once again.

"I can be happy too. I am going to beauty school starting 2nd semester next year." Brittany said walking up to them, "Oh, and I was the one to get more right to the bathroom."

Jeanette sighed and continued walking through the hallway. She didn't apply for any special schools. She didn't care where she went; only that she gets an education there. All of the chipmunks and chipettes signed up for a school except for her, Simon, and Alvin. Simon will probably get accepted to some school without having to apply. And Alvin is barely even passing his classes now!

Just at that moment, the chipmunks joined the girls on their walk to class." Hey Brittany, uh, I need to talk to you for a minute?"

"Well then, talk." Brittany said.

"Uh... I'd prefer to talk to you alone." Jeanette looked over at Alvin. He must be serious about whatever he wants to talk to her sister about; he didn't have that mischievous gleam in his eyes. Instead, he looked more sympathetic.

"Anything you want to say to me can probably be said in front of our siblings." Brittany gave Alvin a quick kiss.

"Brittany." Alvin said, trying to focus on the floor," I'm breaking up with you." He glanced up to see his girlfriend's reaction.

**3**

"What!" Brittany screamed," You're dumping me? No one ever dumps me! I dump other people Who gave you the idea to dump me? You are the longest boyfriend I've ever had! People say we're perfect for each other! I know we fight a lot, but we always work it out! Maybe you have of judgment from staying up too late, or..."

"Brittany!' Alvin cut her off," I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I am breaking up with you."

Jeanette looked over at Simon, who looked just as surprised as she was. He mouthed to her that he had no idea where this was coming from. She suddenly recalled last night, when the boys came in before Alvin finished his sentence. _What was he going to say that night? Was he going to tell her what he was thinking of doing?_ She refocused on Brittany, hoping she wouldn't start a scene.

"I...I can't believe that you would do this to me!" Brittany screamed in his face. Then she ran off, probably to the girl's restroom. Alvin, on the other hand, shrugged and walked off, head down, hands in his pockets. He rest of us just stood there, mouths open.

"Okay, didn't see that one coming."Eleanor said.

"We should get to class, before anything else happens."Simon added.

All day, everyone was trying to talk to Alvin and Brittany. Jeanette didn't try to though; she thought that they both needed their space. However, there was one person that she knew her sister would talk to. That person was named Suzie. Jeanette hated Suzie because she taught her sister things that weren't true; such as it's okay to cheat on boys. She could only hope that her sister would not follow in her friends footsteps.

"Brittany, I am telling you that in a few days, he'll be begging for you to take him back."

"I'm not sure. He looked like he really meant it!" Brittany sniffled and looked at her friend, waiting for advice.

"Boys do this all the time! They don't realize how lucky they are to have us. They would be lost without us!" Suzie looked across the hall," Hey, do you know if Simon is dating anybody?"

Brittany followed her gaze to see Simon pulling books out of his locker," Yeah, my sister Jeanette."

"For how long?"

She gave Suzie a puzzled look," Um, about two years, I think."

Suzie stared straight ahead," And how well does he do when girls flirt with him?"

Now Brittany was really confused." I... I'm not sure" She knew that Suzie had a crush on Simon when she was younger, but she had said that she had gotten over it a while ago.

Her friend turned toward her, " Brittany, I think it's time that I got a tutor to help me in Science." She walked off to class.


	2. Chapter 2

4

Jeanette waved to her youngest sister from her bedroom window as she got into Miss Miller's car. She would miss Eleanor so much, but it might be better, so that her and Brittany wouldn't be arguing.

Ever since they got home from school, Brittany had ben a mess. She couldn't stop crying, so she was forced to get her sister tissue after tissue after tissue.

The scariest part was that she was being nice about it

"I'm so sorry Jeanette!" she would sob, "But do you think you could get me just ONE more tissue?"

Thankfully, Brittany had gone to the airport with Eleanor, so she could finally get a bit of peace and quiet.

But- it wouldn't be that peaceful.

Simon tried once again to shove all of his books inside of his backpack. Though he was happy all of the books he had requested had come in from the library, it probably wasn't a good idea to take them out all at once.

Suddenly, he felt someone gently tap his shoulder, "What are you doing?" a chirpy voice asked.

He had definitely not expected that, he nearly jumped a foot in the air, and he accidentally pushed a few of his books to the ground. The girly voice laughed and as he turned around, he saw Suzie, from his science class, picking up his books.

"Hi?" he said suspiciously, regaining his speech and picking down to get the rest of his reading material.

"Sorry, she said, handing him the heavy novels, "I shouldn't have snuck up on you!"

"Itt's fine." he said, feeling a bit bad he overreacted, "Did you need something?"

"Oh yes!" her eyes lit up,"You're good at science right?" She waited for his nod, "I'm sorta in a bad spot right now. I have to be passing all of my subjects to stay captain of the squad, and well, "She held up a test with a big fat zero on it, "I'm falling a bit behind."

"So you want me to tutor you?" he questioned.

She smiled innocently, "Do you think you could?"

"Well…"he thought it over," I guess I might-"

"Oh thank you so much!" she squealed, hugging him. She ran out of the library, shouting as she left, "My house, tomorrow, at four!" The door closed behind her, sealing the deal.

What did he get himself into?

5

There's something else going on that Alvin isn't saying. It was all she could conclude after a hour of pondering. There just was a missing piece in this puzzle, and to figure it out, she would have to inquire about it.

But, she didn't want to do that either. Alvin has probably been bombarded by questions during school today, so he probably didn't even want to hear it anymore. Especially not from his ex's sister. He would think that she's working for Brittany.

She sighed. This was one of those situations where she was stuck in the middle. Now, whenever she went out with Simon, she'll get a glare from her sister. And, it wasn't like she was assuming what her sister will do-she knew what she was going to do.

Getting up from her bed, she started to make her way down to the kitchen- apparently Theodore had left some food the last time he was over. Hopefully there might be some left. She jumped off the last step and turned through the kitchen doorway- "…What are you doing in my house?" she asked, completely shocked with who was standing in her kitchen, searching her cabinet.

6

Alvin noticed her arrival, and held up a loaf of bread, "Making a sandwich."

She continued to stare at him in shock, "A-At my house?"

He wasn't phased, "Yup." he pulled American cheese out of the fridge.

"How did you get in here? The front door was locked!" She checked over at the door to make sure it was still on its' hinges.

"Yea, but your bathroom window wasn't."

Okay, he probably didn't realize just how strange that was, "And….you came all the way over to my house in the rain to make yourself a sand- WAIT OUR BATHROOM IS ON THE SECOND FLOOR!"

She saw him only shrugged, and decided it was time to get some answers. She walked over to the counter and grabbed Alvin's wrist, then pulled him into the living room and sat him down on the couch. Then, she quickly ran, well- tripped up the stairs and grabbed a towel. Alvin was soaking wet. Why he ever thought to come here was a wonder.

When she came back, he took the towel happily, and took off his cap to reveal soaking wet hair.

She sat down next to him, "So- why's you really come?"

"For a san-"

She took off her glasses to clean them, "Why did you REALLY come here."

He looked her in the eyes, and sighed, "I- had to get away. Theo and dave left, and Simon kept going on about some tutoring he was reluctant to do, and he kept trying to pry information out of me. I figured your house might be easier. And-well, I WAS going to go through your front door, but Britt and Eleanor was there, and I KNOW your sister would try to kill me, sooo- I found a new way in."

There were many questions she wanted to ask, but one came to her mind immediately, "How did you know the bathroom window would be unlocked?"

"Uhmm, well, I've used that way of entry before."

It made more sense now. He knew it was there from when him and Brittany were fighting, and he wanted to apologize. She sighed, and refocused on Alvin's explanation.

"Anyway, sorry for scaring you. I probably should be on my way out now." He got up and started walking to the door.

She automatically felt bad. Alvin had only come to escape, and now he felt obliged to leave, "are you sure? It's okay if you want to stay through the storm."

He put his cap back on, "No, it's fine. A little rain won't hurt me."

Right before he left, she decided to interject, "You know- you can come over whenever you need to."

He opened the door to the pouring rain, and looked back, first serious, but then with a smirk, "Thanks. and left without a second thought


	3. Chapter 3

7-

The next two weeks seemed to pass in a blur. There was nothing interesting that happened. Alvin didn't visit again, though he walked home with her a few times. Even then, he didn't really talk, seeing that Brittany was giving death glares the whole way home. She joked to him one day when Britt stayed home from school that he looked as if Brittany would cut off his tounge if he even opened his mouth.

She hadn't seen much of anyone else either. Brittany seemed to disappear the second she got home. But, then again, she was always like that. Simon hadn't been around either. He kept saying he was tutoring, and it seemed to take up so much time.

But, today, they had made plans to go out for dinner, but he never called. So, she walked over to their house to check up on him. Maybe he was sick or something?

When she got there and rang the doorbell, no one answered. However, she heard the sound of someone singing- Alvin.

She followed the music to their backyard gate, and peered over. The chipmunk in red was singing, holding a rake in one hand. However, if he WAS raking, it seemed he wasn't very into it.

She interrupted his 'jam-session', "Hey," she said. He jumped, and his face turned slightly red.

"Uhm, what's up Jeanette?" he said, trying to play it off.

She remembered why she was here, "Is Simon here?"

He shook his head, "He's been gone for a few hours. Tutoring maybe?" He started to ACTUALLY rake the leaves.

She walked in the gate, her spirits feeling slightly crushed, "Oh…I thought we'd agreed to go out for dinner today."

Alvin shook his head, "Who knows. Maybe,, he's just out getting you a present for your two year tomorrow?

She smiled, "Maybe. If you can even remember it, there's no way he could forget!" she looked at all the leaves surrounding him, "Would you like some help?"

He stared at her a moment, then collapsed onto the leaves dramatically, screaming, "Thank God!"

Before she realized it, hours had passed. They had turned raking into a game- who could rake the tallest pile. She had been winning until Alvin snuck over and knocked it over. Then, after that, the raking war was on. At one point, she 'tripped' and fell on his pile. So, as payback, he tackled her own pile. It was like little kids playing in snow.

They had finally finished up, when she saw a familiar pair of glasses walking by. However, the glasses never stopped or faced her. It went directly into the house without even acknowledgment to the two of them.

Alvin snuck up behind her, " He okay? He looked sorta…dazed." He must have noticed how uneasy she was, because his tone changed, "That idiot probably had to make all of his plans for tomorrow, and, trust me, it takes a lot out of a person." He started to walk away, "Hey, I have to go procrastinate- I'll be around if you need me tomorrow." He waved bye, and went inside.

She walked home in silence. Part of her was afraid of what her anniversary tomorrow would bring. She kept reminding herself that Simon has never let her down on such an important day before.

But, the other part of her argued that he had never missed a date before either.

8-

The doorbell rang, and Alvin groaned. He had secretly hoped for having the day to himself, since Simon actually remembered his plans with Jeanette today. He had pulled out his favorite movies, and was nearly seconds from sitting on the couch and watching them.

He reached the door and opened it annoyingly, but who he saw shocked him, "….Jeanette?" he asked

The chipette was dressed in a purple halter dress, but her eyes were rimmed pink, "Uhm, hi Alvin….is Simon here?" she avoided eye contact.

"No, he left like, two hours ago. He was wearing a tux- I assumed he was with you." he admitted.

She shifted back and forth, concentrating on the floor, "Oh, okay. Sorry for bothering you then." she said quickly, turning to leave.

"Wait!" I said, grabbing her arm. She turned to him, and he noticed her eyes quickly filling for tears. He pulled her inside, sitting her on the living room couch.

This was all too weird. Simon has always been true to his word. And, where else could he have gone in a tux?

Stepping away from Jeanette, he called Simon, thinking of everything he would tell him when he picked up.

There was no answer.

He sighed, turning back to the chipette in distraught, "His phone's off." he sat down next to her, "What happened?" he asked, thinking of absolutely nothing he could do to help.

She breathed deeply, "We we're supposed to meet at 10 at our favorite pizzeria….I waited for…an hour and a half, but he never showed up." she looked away, holding one of the couch pillows tight.

He put one arm around her, comfortingly. For once, he was at a loss for words.

MEANWHILE, Simon stared at Suzie's latest science test.

It was- flawless.

"Wow, are you SURE you need to be tutored in science. You seem pretty smart to me." he muttered, flipping through the test pages. The last time someone got so high on Mr. Todd's test-

Well, it was him.

She smiled and batted her eyelashes, "You really think I did a good job?"

"Of course! I never thought about using that method to make.." he trailed off when Suzie straightened his blue tie, "Oh, yea, um, why did you want me to wear a suit here again? I told you I sorta had other plans today."

Her curly blond hair bounced as she reached up to fix his hair, "Oh yea, I forgot to tell you. You see, my dad works for this nice science program overseas. I told him that I knew this boy who would be great for a scholarship. He can only come back today though, but I figured you wouldn't mind, since it's science, after all."

He blushed, tempted by the offer, "I would love that, but if that's the case I just need to leave for a second to tell-" he was cut off by Suzie grabbing the edge of his tux and pulling him into her lips. The smell of her shampoo filled his nose, and, suddenly, he couldn't remember what he was about to say.

She pulled away slowly, smiling, "Please stay- for me," she asked, softly.

9-

Alvin sat there for hours, even after Jeanette left. He told her after she calmed down to go home, and he would tell her if he found out anything. She was reluctant to go, but he knew Brittany would be more of a help….if she was even home.

He looked over at the clock- 8pm. Jeanette had left over 5 hours ago. But, he wouldn't move from this spot until Simon explained himself.

He turned his head as the doorknob turned- speak of the devil.

Simon stumbled in, looking very dazed. He closed the door softly, and didn't even acknowledge him as he walked into the kitchen.

Alvin grumbled him, and followed him into the room, "Simon, you're home late." he said, hoping to snap his brother out of it.

"Yea," he muttered, searching through the cabinets for something.

"Where were you?" he asked, annoyed.

"Tutoring," he said plainly.

"Oh, because I opened our door today to see a very upset chipette," he growled, waiting to see his brothers reaction.

Simon pulled out a granola bar, and looked at him, "What did Brittany want?" he asked.

Alvin couldn't believe what he was hearing, " It wasn't Brittany. Do you know what day today is?" he dared to ask.

The chipmunk took a bite of his granola bar and shook his head, "I don't know." he walked right past him, "I'm going upstairs. Night." he said, walking up the stairs without another word.

He couldn't think of what to say. His brother couldn't forget anything. It was like his brain was wiped. But, even so, he would think, that as far as Jeanette was concerned, it would take some strong force of nature for him not to be there for her.

Something here was horribly wrong.

JEANETTE groggily opened her eyes to the sound of her cellphone vibrating off the table. She looked over at her alarm clock- 2:10am. Who could be texting her this early in the morning.

She forced herself to get out of bed and walk over to where her cellphone was charging. She was hoping it was Alvin- that he had found out something about Simon. He had promised her he would try to figure things out.

When she had gotten home earlier, Brittany wasn't around for her to ask. She would have been so helpful in this situation. Sure, she would be home by NOW- but she would so tired that she would throw a fit if she woke her up.

She unplugged her phone from the wall, and was surprised when she saw Simon's name flashing before her


	4. Chapter 4

10-

Alvin was fuming. Despite the hard downpour soaking him to the bone, he was too infuriated to speak. He sprinted through the street over the the chipette's house, heart pounding.

How could he?

Why did he?

Brittany opened the door for him before he even reached the front steps. He flew past her, note still crumpled in his hand.

"Alvin, what's going on?" she asked him as he paced back and forth.

He couldn't bear to tell her. The words couldn't form in his throat, "Where's Jean?" he muttered.

"Alvin-"

"Where's. Jean." he growled, completely past the point of thinking rationally.

Of course, Britt has always been just as stubborn as him, "Tell me what we're dealing with, and then I will tell you."

Hesitantly, I handed her the note, nearly ruined by the rain. She opened it carefully, trying not to accidentally rip the fringed edges. Finally, she began to read the smudged letters, and he found himself glancing over her shoulder.

Hey,

If you hadn't noticed by now, I've gone. Not just out of the house, but out of the country. I've been offered the opportunity to study overseas, curtousy of Suzie, and her father. Don't worry, I'll probably call you when I get there, but it's a long plane ride. There wasn't any time before our flight to tell you, but don't worry.

~Later

Brittany looked up at him, eyes wide, "He just….got up and left?"

"I know. And not one mention of Jeanette. Perfect way to leave, right?"

She looked back down at the letter, "….Suzie, no surprise she's behind this."

He shrugged, not caring about Suzie and Simon for the moment, "Now, where's Jeanette?"

"Upstairs, in the bathroom. But it's locked. I think maybe he texted her, or called her or something."

"I'm going to go with text. Did you leave the bathroom window unlocked?"

"Uhm, I think so- why?"

He started towards the door, "I'll go talk to her." He left without another word to the side of the house. Sure, he's done this plenty of times before; but, never during a downpour.

Alvin reached the wall underneath the bathroom window. Reaching from the ground up to the roof was an old storm drain, pouring out water from the gutter down to the Earth.

Trying not to think of the consequences if the pipe broke, he began to climb. His shoes barely gripped around the pipe, and his fingers ached as they grasped the cold metal. Still, he climbed higher, freezing every time the pipe shifted under him.

Finally, he was level with the window. Not taking the chance of staying on the pipe any longer, he reached over, and hung from the windowsill. Pushing his feet against the white siding, he reached up and knocked on the window.

After nearly a minute of trying not to plummet to his death, the window opened. He flung himself inside, arms aching. He rubbed his shoulders, and glanced up at Jeanette.

She looked terrible. Her eyes were rimmed red, puffy and tear-stained. Her brown hair was a frumped mess- frumpier than it normally was, that is.

"Wha-What? How did you?"

"Do me a favor Jean, and don't lock the bathroom door next time," I groaned, finally catching my breath, "Now," I began, standing, "Talk to me."

Her lip twitched, but she tried to avoid the topic, "About what?"

He sighed, knowing that having her try to explain would just lead to more tears. Instead, he held out his hand, "Phone," he commanded.

She knew exactly what he meant. Not bothering to argue with Alvin, she handed him her cell. He went to her text messages, looking for the most recent received message from Simon. He found it, and quickly opened to find only a few short lines-

Jean-

I'm breaking up with you.

Going to school overseas with Suzie.

Alvin bit his lip, silently cursing how much of an idiot his brother was.

Really? Sending Jean, a perfect, loyal girlfriend a message in the middle of the night simply saying 'I'm breaking up with you and running off with another girl? It gave a new meaning to the word 'low'.

I focused my attention back on her, seeing her eyes already beginning to water again, "Oh, Jean…" he mumbled, letting her run into his open arms. She sobbed into his shoulder, and he was at a loss for words. What could he possibly say that would make her see that he wasn't worth crying over. All the while, not completely insulting his brother. There had to be some reasonable explanation for all this…

Right?

Alvin, after Jeanette finally calmed down, pulled back from her, "You know what we're doing tomorrow?"

She stared at me, still upset and confused, "What" she whispered.

He smiled at her, "I don't know. But we're doing something. Something fun."

I reached over and grabbed a tissue for her, "Why?"

"Because," I ruffled her messy hair, "Things are much better when you're smiling."

And, even though she was completely devastated about her first love breaking up with her, there was, if one looked close enough, a faint smile on her lips.

He wanted to strangle his brother.

11-

"First, weeks of nothing but snow, and NOW," Jeanette shouted, walking backwards and motioning to the two feet of snow around her, "We get snow so heavy that the power goes out."

Alvin turned around, walking backwards beside her. They were walking back from the movies, which wasn't an option anymore, now that the power was out.

It was almost dark out, too dark for Jeanette to walk all the way home on her own. The plan was to crash at his house until the lights turned back on. Dave was out of town, visiting Theo at school, so there wouldn't be any problem if the emergency power came on late at night. He couldn't, after all, trust Jean to walk home with so much ice for her to slip on.

It had been a rough month. After a month of trying his absolute hardest, it seemed that Jeanette was actually starting to forget Simon. Simon, who hadn't called since he left, and left Dave frantic, and Alvin who had to pick up the pieces. Still, things were starting to look better. He had taken on a full role of distracting Jean, with Brittany merely tolerating his constant presence. They went out to eat, saw movies, and she had a fun time trying to teach him school stuff that he wasn't at all interested in.

And, in honesty, it was one of his better months.

Suddenly, his thoughts were cut short by a hand on the sleeve of his red winter coat. Before he had time to process, he was being dragged down by Jeanette into a rather thick snowpile.

They laid there for nearly a minute, laughing, "Really?" Alvin managed to gasp between chuckles. He was laughing so hard his sides were beginning to hurt, "You've got to stop falling on nature!"

He got up, and helped her to her feet. Both of them were soaked from the snow, and Alvin nudged her along, brushing off some snow left on her coat, "Come on, it'll be warmer inside.

They finally reached the chipmunk's house, and Alvin let her in, "Take a seat," he took notice of the lack of power, and heat, in the house, "I'll go find something to keep warm." Jeanette walked over, and sat on the couch, while he scavenged for anything to keep them from freezing over or getting sick. He tried to find the stairs, to get to his room, and managed to stub his toe on the corner of the wall. He groaned, and the chipette laughed quietly. Shooting a sarcastic remark at her, he rushed up the stairs.

He shouted down minutes later, "Jean, come here," he advised. She walked over to the foot of the steps, being careful to avoid the wall, "Change into this. It's warmer," he tossed down a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. She nodded, and ran up the steps to change in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Alvin gathered all he could find. He pulled his red comforter off his bed, and a few other throw blankets from the couch downstairs. Trying to think of anything that could generate heat, he searched for any candles that Dave left in the house. Of course, he technically wasn't allowed anywhere near fire, but this was important.

Jeanette came down minutes later, wearing his old hoodie. Her hair was soaked, but there wasn't much he could do about that. On the couch, he had set up a fort of the warmest things he could manage. She quickly retreated under the covers, pulling up beside him.

Her eyes were focused on the candles, "Do I smell…peppermint?"

He nodded, "It was the only toe of candle I could find."

She smiled, "I like it. It's…festive." She curled up into a tighter ball, "It's so cold,"

He lifted his arm up, "Body heat?" he offered wholeheartedly. She curled up beside him, desperate for warmth.

The sat there for minutes, not conversing, but simply staring off into space. They both, huddled together, slowly began to warm up in the freezing house, engulfed by the smell of peppermint.

"Hey Alvin," Jeanette whispered, craning her neck back to look at him. The whole atmosphere was strangely soothing.

"Yea?"

"I was wondering…" she began, drawing in his attention, "You don't have to answer, but…why did you break up with Britt?"

There it was- the fateful question. The question that everyone asked, but he never revealed the answer to.

He wasn't even sure if he could put it into words, "Uhm…"

She stared back into the fire, her glasses reflecting the orange, flickering flames, "You don't have to answer."

"No," he fumbled quickly, "I mean…" he quickly tried to piece the words together, "I guess I just…." he looked down at her, just as she was staring right back, "I knew it wasn't right, I guess. Us, I mean. I didn't want someone who got upset over everything I screwed up. I wanted someone to look a little bit…deeper…. he trailed off, mind filling with memories. All of those times he'd forget something so simple, or say something without thinking, the fuss she'd put up. He'd have to practically get down on his knees and beg for mercy.

And then, he thought of the past month. He'd managed to mess up plenty of things, but Jean still stayed by his side. And, even before Simon's ordeal, she was always there when he needed someone to vent to, and Theo wasn't there. Britt was just one fragile, flashy piece of glass. Jeanette was a rock, at least on the outside, but durable and loyal through and through.

And, throughout these thoughts, Alvin didn't notice he was leaning in closer to Jean. And she was leaning in too.

Instantly, the room was filled with light as the power sprung to life. The two jumped in surprise, flying to the opposite sides of the couch.

"Uhm," Jeanette stood up, flustered, "The powers back. Ms. Miller will probably be wondering where I am," she flew over to the bannister and grabbed her soaking clothes.

"You're right- hold on," I mumbled, still a bit dazed. Trying to shake off the strange feeling, he rushed over to the coat closet, and got her coat, "Here- I'll see you tomorrow," he helped her bundle up, and gratefully opened the door for her.

"Yea. See you tomorrow," she left swiftly, nearly tripping down the steps. Alvin watched her leave, closed the door behind her, and shook his head.

Did they almost-?


End file.
